Impact News

August is the perfect time to talk about energy-saving tools and programs, as our electricity bills are the highest of the year, and businesses and individuals pray that their air conditioners will hold out. Possibly even more important than our ability to stay cool however, is the impact our energy practices have on the environment and climate we live in. Businesses in New Orleans not only know the repercussions for energy use, but are leading the charge in changing the way we think about and use energy. Last Friday, many of these businesses joined LifeCity and Energy Smart for a workshop about saving money and energy. Here is what we learned!
First, we heard from Siobhan Foley with the New Orleans Office of Resilience and Sustainability. She provided an overview of the new Climate Action Strategy, which features many inspiring and important goals for New Orleans, spanning over the next 20-50 years. In the strategy, goals such as decreasing our carbon footprint, increasing solar energy, reducing waste, and supporting development of the circular economy will be used to inspire business leaders and citizens to contribute to the positive change needed to meet these goals. Not only does the strategy include helping our environment, but it also sets the stage for job creation and connecting culture to climate change. To read the whole strategy, click here.
Next, Jackie Dadakis, the Managing Partner of Green Coast Enterprise (GCE) Services, spoke to us about Green Coast’s efficient and accessible technology that allows businesses, schools, and organizations to track their utility bills and other data relevant to energy use and savings. Through a simple data tracking dashboard, it is easier to make decisions that will greatly reduce costs and unneeded energy usage. By focusing on the inefficient and expensive quadrant of energy use, Green Coast has been able to help businesses and organizations reduce costs so that they can feel good about helping the environment, while saving money to spend on hiring more employees, establishing sustainable practices, or investing in other areas of business development.
Finally, Robyn Munici, a Project Lead at Energy Smart, a program developed by the New Orleans City Council and administered by Entergy New Orleans, spoke about energy savings opportunities. Robyn described how Energy Smart helps Entergy New Orleans’ electric customers save energy and money through energy assessments and valuable cash rebates on a variety of energy efficiency improvements. Leveraging cash back incentives and trade ally partners, Energy Smart works with businesses and industrial facilities to meet their energy needs, while reducing their carbon footprint and establishing sustainable and cost-effective business practices.
Although the primary focus of our workshop was business customers, Energy Smart also runs a residential program.
If you are interested in saving money and energy at home, visit the Energy Smart website to get started!
Thank you to all the businesses and speakers who participated, and we look forward to making New Orleans a more resilient and clean energy-driven community!

BATON ROUGE, La. — On Wednesday night, Louisiana Economic Development and the U.S. Small Business Administration announced the 2017 Louisiana Small Business Award winners at an event honoring small business leaders who exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit of Louisiana. The winners were honored in a private reception at the Governor’s Mansion. Continue reading →

Recent studies from Forbes, Harvard Business School and McKinsey, have the business world buzzing about diversity. The findings of these studies cite, that diverse organizations are more innovative and grow faster, earn more, and are better at problem solving.

The question is, once you have managed to hire a diverse staff, how do you get the most from your diversity?

Getting a bunch of different people in a room together is not in itself magical, creating an environment that cultivates and affirms all of those people’s differences is where the magic starts. Continue reading →

Free Access to HRsync when you sign up your team for health insurance! Stay green and make all your employee files electronic with Benefit Administration Group!

Are you as smart as a 3rd grader? When it comes to recycling, adults can take a cue from children: the simpler the task, the more likely it is to be done. Take recycling for instance: young students may not yet be able to understand the complexities of landfill engineering and how to prevent leachate from contaminating underground aquifers, but they know that the less stuff you bury in the ground the better for the earth! Give them a simple way to recycle items and they’ll gladly participate.

Restoration Thrift: The Social and Environmental Benefits of Secondhand Clothing.

10,500,000 tons! That is the amount of clothing Americans send to landfills each year. This is due, in part, to the fact that we buy five times as much clothing as we did in 1980. On top of this, our old clothing is filling up landfills since we only recycle or donate 15% of it.

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Any business can become a green business, and any business can claim to be green. LifeCity is here to ensure that businesses that want to go green have the support to do so, and businesses who claim to be green are transparent about their social and environmentally responsible practices.